Nintendo's Wii console is possibly one of the most polarizing and divisive consoles of the modern era. Eschewing super-powered HD graphics and robust online features, for enhanced GameCube hardware complete with a motion sensitive Remote, and a focus on appealing to newcomers unfamiliar with games. The console was seen as a joke for the longest time from the "Hardcore" gaming community, many of whom defected to Sony and Microsoft's HD powerhouses. It's runaway success only added fuel to the fire, spawning loony conspiracy theories from gaming journalists and gamers about how "Casuals are destroying gaming" and that "Nintendo betrayed the true gamers". Almost none of this turned out to be true though, and arguably never was. The Wii was a great console that helped get Nintendo out of their GameCube era rut. But more importantly, it along with the DS helped pioneer the current hardware mentality for other consoles, and changed the face of Game development forever (at least, IMO).
First let's set the scene. It's 2005, and the Seventh Generation of systems had already arrived with the Xbox 360. Ushering in the HD era and providing the biggest leap in graphics processing yet, allowing for more action, and more realistic characters and presentation. But all those complex worlds and production values came at a cost. AAA games were already getting more expensive to make, but those budgets and development times really started exploding in the HD era. The more complex graphics and action promised by the HD systems now required longer development cycles, bigger teams, and more money. This meant that the overall output and support of companies like Capcom diminished significantly vs the previous generation. On top of that, there were still plenty of people who were perfectly fine with their 6th generation machines like the PS2, which was still getting tons of great games during this time. Microsoft pushed their popular Xbox Live Arcade Service of download titles to compensate, but it was never really taken seriously by the mainstream audience, or most indie developers, who were still predominantly on PC at the time, and thus was more of a novelty than a revolution. Sony's PlayStation 3, which would arrive a year later, only made things worse. It's overly complex Cell architecture and lack of RAM only gave developers more headaches, resulting in even longer development cycles for AAA games as the developers now needed to account for the PS3 hardware.
At GDC 2005, Nintendo's late president Satoru Iwata, gave an iconic speech, talking about where Nintendo felt the industry was heading. A major concern was that the increased development costs of AAA games and the narrow focus of most developers at the time, would lead to a future where the industry became an expensive, cut-throat, and homogenized mess. Filled with samey titles that appealed to an increasingly narrow audience, and that eventually, constantly increasing power of machines would eventually lead to diminishing returns, resulting in less and less noticeable improvements. Meanwhile, a there was a large part of the gaming market, non-gamers and lapsed gamers who were growing too intimidated by the complexity modern blockbuster titles. Now whether you agree with this is up to you, but it was a concern Nintendo wanted to address at the time. Their first step was pushing their Nintendo DS platform, the dual screened handheld had only been on the market for a few months by this point, and Nintendo really needed to prove its worth. By using cheap, simple hardware together with a touch screen interface, Nintendo demoed titles such as Nintendogs and Electroplankton, that they hoped could bring in people that the industry had been ignoring for years. Needless to say it paid off in the end, leading to the DS selling 152 million units Worldwide, and caught the eye of developers who were looking to capitalize on that newly found audience thanks to its cheap, low-cost development.
With the growing success, Nintendo took this strategy to the home console space, hoping to make a big comeback after the failed Nintendo GameCube. Their answer? Re-purpose the GameCube hardware with a slightly more powerful non-HD system. Helping to keep the system affordable, and also keep development as easy and low-cost as possible for developers, allowing for less risk when creating new games. Facilitating this would be a new kind of controller, nobody could've seen coming. The Wii Remote, a wand-like device that brutally deconstructed the modern game controller with a simple interface and motion sensing technology. In the end, the Wii was a gamble that on paper, had every right to fail. It wasn't as powerful as the other two systems, which meant it couldn't get the same types of games. The tech of the Wii Remote was limited, which meant motions too complex were imprecise, and the idea of appealing to people who didn't play games had no chance in working. Yet against all odds... It worked. The Wii single handedly outsold both Sony and Microsoft's HD systems, and made developers and consumers take notice thanks to its unique controller and low development costs. Perhaps best of all, it's popularity among retro gamers thanks to it's simple controller and Virtual Console service allowed for the rise of retro style games and reboots from developers we still see today.
Most importantly, the Wii's success was a wake-up call to the industry. It showed that you no longer can get by on just cutting edge graphics and fancy processors to engage consumers and game makers. Simple hardware, and Fun were important over everything else. Even though Nintendo floundered during the console's later years, setting up for the disastrous Wii U (which is a topic for another time), the impact the Wii had on the industry is still felt today. Sony and Microsoft both built their 8th gen systems, the PS4 and Xbox One, on cheap, simple PC hardware, making game development as easy and low cost for all developers as possible. Some of the most popular games this gen were built on the Wii's philosophy of simple and fun for everyone such as Minecraft, Fortnite, Rocket League, and retro indie titles like Shovel Knight, which are still being played by gamers casual and hardcore alike. Nintendo once again continues to re-define game development with Nintendo Switch, a console that fills the large gap between the ever popular mobile gaming, and home console style gaming.
TL;DR - As much of a punchline the Wii has become among "Hardcores" I feel it helped saved game developers in the end. Helped show that all developers really want, was something simple and easy to work with that could allow for a wide variety of games and audiences to enjoy, a mentality that carried over to the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
First let's set the scene. It's 2005, and the Seventh Generation of systems had already arrived with the Xbox 360. Ushering in the HD era and providing the biggest leap in graphics processing yet, allowing for more action, and more realistic characters and presentation. But all those complex worlds and production values came at a cost. AAA games were already getting more expensive to make, but those budgets and development times really started exploding in the HD era. The more complex graphics and action promised by the HD systems now required longer development cycles, bigger teams, and more money. This meant that the overall output and support of companies like Capcom diminished significantly vs the previous generation. On top of that, there were still plenty of people who were perfectly fine with their 6th generation machines like the PS2, which was still getting tons of great games during this time. Microsoft pushed their popular Xbox Live Arcade Service of download titles to compensate, but it was never really taken seriously by the mainstream audience, or most indie developers, who were still predominantly on PC at the time, and thus was more of a novelty than a revolution. Sony's PlayStation 3, which would arrive a year later, only made things worse. It's overly complex Cell architecture and lack of RAM only gave developers more headaches, resulting in even longer development cycles for AAA games as the developers now needed to account for the PS3 hardware.
At GDC 2005, Nintendo's late president Satoru Iwata, gave an iconic speech, talking about where Nintendo felt the industry was heading. A major concern was that the increased development costs of AAA games and the narrow focus of most developers at the time, would lead to a future where the industry became an expensive, cut-throat, and homogenized mess. Filled with samey titles that appealed to an increasingly narrow audience, and that eventually, constantly increasing power of machines would eventually lead to diminishing returns, resulting in less and less noticeable improvements. Meanwhile, a there was a large part of the gaming market, non-gamers and lapsed gamers who were growing too intimidated by the complexity modern blockbuster titles. Now whether you agree with this is up to you, but it was a concern Nintendo wanted to address at the time. Their first step was pushing their Nintendo DS platform, the dual screened handheld had only been on the market for a few months by this point, and Nintendo really needed to prove its worth. By using cheap, simple hardware together with a touch screen interface, Nintendo demoed titles such as Nintendogs and Electroplankton, that they hoped could bring in people that the industry had been ignoring for years. Needless to say it paid off in the end, leading to the DS selling 152 million units Worldwide, and caught the eye of developers who were looking to capitalize on that newly found audience thanks to its cheap, low-cost development.
With the growing success, Nintendo took this strategy to the home console space, hoping to make a big comeback after the failed Nintendo GameCube. Their answer? Re-purpose the GameCube hardware with a slightly more powerful non-HD system. Helping to keep the system affordable, and also keep development as easy and low-cost as possible for developers, allowing for less risk when creating new games. Facilitating this would be a new kind of controller, nobody could've seen coming. The Wii Remote, a wand-like device that brutally deconstructed the modern game controller with a simple interface and motion sensing technology. In the end, the Wii was a gamble that on paper, had every right to fail. It wasn't as powerful as the other two systems, which meant it couldn't get the same types of games. The tech of the Wii Remote was limited, which meant motions too complex were imprecise, and the idea of appealing to people who didn't play games had no chance in working. Yet against all odds... It worked. The Wii single handedly outsold both Sony and Microsoft's HD systems, and made developers and consumers take notice thanks to its unique controller and low development costs. Perhaps best of all, it's popularity among retro gamers thanks to it's simple controller and Virtual Console service allowed for the rise of retro style games and reboots from developers we still see today.
Most importantly, the Wii's success was a wake-up call to the industry. It showed that you no longer can get by on just cutting edge graphics and fancy processors to engage consumers and game makers. Simple hardware, and Fun were important over everything else. Even though Nintendo floundered during the console's later years, setting up for the disastrous Wii U (which is a topic for another time), the impact the Wii had on the industry is still felt today. Sony and Microsoft both built their 8th gen systems, the PS4 and Xbox One, on cheap, simple PC hardware, making game development as easy and low cost for all developers as possible. Some of the most popular games this gen were built on the Wii's philosophy of simple and fun for everyone such as Minecraft, Fortnite, Rocket League, and retro indie titles like Shovel Knight, which are still being played by gamers casual and hardcore alike. Nintendo once again continues to re-define game development with Nintendo Switch, a console that fills the large gap between the ever popular mobile gaming, and home console style gaming.
TL;DR - As much of a punchline the Wii has become among "Hardcores" I feel it helped saved game developers in the end. Helped show that all developers really want, was something simple and easy to work with that could allow for a wide variety of games and audiences to enjoy, a mentality that carried over to the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
